An Economic History of the World since 1400

by Donald J. Harreld

Length: 24 hrs and 29 mins

Most of us have a limited understanding of the powerful role economics has played in shaping human civilization. This makes economic history - the study of how civilizations structured their environments to provide food, shelter, and material goods - a vital lens through which to think about how we arrived at our present, globalized moment.

Designed to fill a long-empty gap in how we think about modern history, these 48 lectures are a comprehensive journey through more than 600 years of economic history, from the medieval world to the 21st century. Aimed at the layperson with only a cursory understanding of the field, An Economic History of the World since 1400 reveals how economics has influenced (and been influenced by) historical events and trends, including the Black Death, the Age of Exploration, the Industrial Revolution, the European colonization of Africa, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the birth of personal computing. Professor Harreld has crafted a riveting, centuries-long story of power, glory, and ideology that reveals how, in step with history, economic ideas emerged, evolved, and thrived or died.

Along the way, you'll strengthen your understanding of a range of economic concepts, philosophies, trends, treaties, and organizations, including the mercantile system, Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, Marxist economics, African independence movements, and the formation of economic organizations including the European Union. You'll also consider provocative questions about the intersection of history and economics. What did the economies of Roosevelt's America and Hitler's Germany have in common? What does history tell us about how nations should dictate economic policy? Can we say that free trade is truly free?

Marvel at just how much we still have to learn about the economic forces that have dictated our past - and that will dictate our future.

Listening Length: 24 hours and 29 minutes

Genres: History, Economics, Nonfiction, Audiobook, The World, Business, Finance

25 pages, Audible Audio

First published August 19, 2016

About the author

Donald J. Harreld has been a member of the History Department since 2001, and is also a member of the European Studies faculty. Professor Harreld is the Executive Director of the Sixteenth Century Society & Conference, and international academic organization. In Spring/Summer 2005, he was a Visiting Research Scholar at the Center for Urban and Cultural History at University of Antwerp (Belgium). Before joining BYU’s faculty, Professor Harreld taught at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and at the University of Minnesota. Harreld is the author of the book, High Germans in the Low Countries: German Merchants and Commerce in Golden Age Antwerp (Brill, 2004), and several articles on subjects that include the social and economic history of the Low Countries, the Dutch Revolt, and early modern merchant culture. His current research projects include a book-length study of early seventeenth-century Dutch circumnavigations, and broader research into early modern commercial networks. Professor Harreld teaches courses in European economic history, the age of discovery/expansion of Europe, European revolutions, and early modern history.

Reviews

[Ilinca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, but not groundbreaking (well, it couldn't, not when it covers seven centuries). You're better off reading Hayek vs Keynes, or even The Ascent of Money, or many others I don't know about; this is basically a brief history of the world that focuses on the build-up of industry rather than on culture or politics. Some ideas are worth running away with - like the standardization of knowledge through the printing press (which is more interesting philosophically than economically). Overall it's interesting for the newbie, and he's never boring.

[Marcos · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first time that I'm disappointed with a The Great Courses product. The title of the course is misleading as easily more than half of all the information provided has only indirect connection to economic events, and most of them are so basic that any student familiarized with general history would have already gone over them several times. For example, the episodes dealing with the communist phenomenon are merely a couple of episodes that summarize the main historical events in the USSR and Communist China with only fleeting and superficial remarks related to the economy. Among other things I was looking for an articulated and extended explanation of the origins of the components of the current economic system (e.g. banks, stock markets, limited liability companies, etc.) and how they have evolved over time, but the professor makes these explanations secondary to the overall mainly mainstream historical narrative so that in the end neither general history or economic history are explored in sufficient breadth and depth. On top of this, the structure of the lectures is lacking in organization with several examples of redundant information and a narrative style that is oftentimes hard to follow because of sudden changes of topic without the proper introduction.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times interesting, but this series of lectures had a lot of problems. The topic is big, encompassing the entire globe, but Harreld is a specialists on a specific period of time and a specific slice of the Earth, northwestern Europe. The parts where he touched on his speciality were quite good, but the parts about elsewhere were lacking.

The problem with this series was that it was both too eurocentric and not eurocentric enough. His discussions of Asia felt like something that he did some cursory reading to prepare for these lectures, not a field of knowledge that he commanded handily. Because this series of lectures was about the economic history of the world, it had to touch on Asia, but he was not equipped to do that. He did it anyways.

They should have made the focus of these lectures more Eurocentric or found someone who was capable of talking about something other than Europe's economic history.

[Bevan Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good and educational overview of the period. My only quibble is that it probably crosses over a bit to much with a general world history, I would have preferred a bit less politics and a bit more economic history particularly. It would have been interesting to see how economic thinking developed and affected policy a bit more perhaps although Adam Smith is well treated.

[Cav · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Economic History of the World since 1400 was a well-done look into the topic.

Course presenter Donald James Harreld is a former professor of history with a dual appointment in European studies at Brigham Young University. Harreld specializes in the early modern history of the Netherlands. He was also the executive director of the Sixteenth Century Society and Conference from 2008–2018.

Donald J. Harreld:


Professor Harreld has a good presentation style that shouldn't struggle to hold the listener's (or viewer's) attention. The scope of the course is quite broad; covering large chunks of history as it goes.

The formatting of the course is fairly typical of offerings from The Great Courses, although it is a very long course. This one consists of 48 lectures; each ~30mins.

I generally enjoy content from the folks over at The Great Courses. I have listened to and watched many dozens of their other offerings. Unfortunately, they can often be pretty hit-or-miss - in my experience.

Some courses are super-interesting, and you come away knowing way more than you did at the start. Other times, the prof stands behind a podium and speaks at the viewer monotonously for the duration; ensuring to dwell on the tedium in a ground-level approach that completely ignores the big-picture.
Thankfully, this course was an example of the former, and not the latter...

Of course; given the vast nature of the subject matter covered here, this one is sure to piss off many different assorted people - who have various gripes about how each subject was handled. I'm sure some would have preferred more time spent covering something, while others could be upset about spending too much time covering the topics he does. Well, you can't please everyone, and this course is meant as a general overview. There are plenty of additional books and resources available for anyone looking to take a deeper dive into the dozens of epochs, events, and/or people covered here.

The 48 lectures presented here are:
1: Self-Interest, Human Survival, and History
2: Marco Polo, China, and Silk Road Trade
3: Manorial Society in Medieval Europe
4:How Black Death Reshaped Town and Field
5: Late-14th-Century Guilds and Monopolies
6:European Discovery Routes: East and West
7: 1571: Spain, Portugal Encircle the Globe
8: Old World Bourses and Market Information
9: The Europeans' Plantation Labor Problem
10: Adam Smith, Mercantilism, State Building
11: British and Dutch Joint-Stock Companies
12: Europe, the Printing Press, and Science
13:The Industrious Revolution: Demand Grows
14: Why Didn't China Industrialize Earlier?
15: 18th-Century Agriculture and Production
16: Industrial Revolution: The Textile Trade
17: British Coal, Coke, and a New Age of Iron
18: Power: From Peat Bogs to Steam Engines
19: A Second Industrial Revolution after 1850
20: Family Labor Evolves into Factory Work
21: Cornelius Vanderbilt and the Modern Firm
22: 19th-Century Farm Technology, Land Reform
23: Speeding Up: Canals, Steamships, Railroads
24: European Urbanization and Emigration
25: Unions, Strikes, and the Haymarket Affair
26: Banks, Central Banks, and Modern States
27: Understanding Uneven Economic Development
28: Adam Smith's Argument for Free Trade
29: Middle-Class Catalogs and Mass Consumption
30: Imperialism: Land Grabs and Morality Plays
31: World War I: Industrial Powers Collide
32: Russia's Marxist-Leninist Experiment
33: The Trouble with the Gold Standard
34: Tariffs, Cartels, and John Maynard Keynes
35: Japanese Expansionism: Manchurian Incident
36: U.S. Aid and a Postwar Economic Miracle
37: Colonialism and the Independence Movement
38: Japan, the Transistor, and Asia's Tigers
39: The Welfare State: From Bismarck to Obama
40: The End of American Exceptionalism?
41: Middle East: From Pawn to Power Broker
42: Germany, the European Union, and the Euro
43: Free Trade: Global versus Regional Blocs
44: Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and the Soviet Decline
45: Half the World Left behind in Poverty
46: China, India: Two Paths to Wealth Extremes
47: The Information Economy: Telegraph to Tech
48: Leverage with Globalization in Its Grip


***********************

I enjoyed this course. The accompanying guidebook also makes for excellent reference material. I would recommend it to anyone reading this review.
4.5 stars.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally when I listen to a Great Courses book, I binge, listening to several episodes a day until I finish the series. Even though the narrative structure is episodic by design, one episode typically pushes me into the next, which encourages me to start the one after that, and so on. That didn’t happen with this set of lectures by Donald Harreld and I’m still not certain why. This book was highly educational and very helpful in associating the economic development in one part of the world with what was happening elsewhere. I’m glad I listened to it, even though several lectures were very dry, but it took me months to complete the course that I expected to take less than a week when I started.

My only serious complaint about the lectures is that there were several places in the course where an event I had read extensively about (like the Haymarket Riot) was mentioned and the cursory coverage of the event gave a highly misleading impression regarding what had happened. This quite naturally made me wonder how many other misleading impressions I was receiving regarding areas I do not know as well. Yet, over all the book enriched my understanding of the subject and I’m glad that I listened to it.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Michael Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this lecture series generally enjoyable, but can't deny that my mind did wander a fair bit. I'm not sure if it was a consequence of the content or simply my interest level at the time of listening. I think I may have hit my limit of general European and world history for the moment. I've listened to a number of lectures in the past year, as well as a few podcasts, that have dealt with the last four or five hundred years of European history. That said, the overlap has provided a nice review from various angles which has helped me better internalize the content, which has been nice.

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice history of the world and civilization with a focus on the history of economics. Listened on Audible and it was so informative and wonderful, I listened to it twice.

[Vlad Ardelean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of the TGC courses are high quality. The longer the course, the higher chance of good quality.

I learned:
* That China was more productive that the west as far as food was concerned, before the industrial revolution (they could feed 2 times as many people per square meter of land)
* That the industrial revolution was a slower process than I expected. It had a lot to do with improvements in the textile industry (which began fully manual, and slowly got more and more parts automated)
* Let's not ignore the fact that the westerners found 3 new continents - that probably accelerated the revolution a lot. Speaking of finding continents, that was a side-effect of them trying to find new navigation routes. Apparently finding the way to India and China also took a bit of time.
* Banks get their name from the place some traders met to lend/borrow money - in public squares, on benches.
* How complicated the smelting process is, and how different kinds of coal are needed, or were used, and how that put at an advantage different countries.
* Cornelius Vanderbildt - the inventor of the limited liability company.
* During the cold-was, the non-aligned countries were slowly choosing sides. For many African countries, communism sounded great, with its rethoric of self-determination.

...and many other things that I'm forgetting

[Abhi Gupte · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very poorly structured course consisting of poorly structured lectures. I've listened to many Great Courses series and this one definitely is at the bottom of the list.

The lectures jump from one topic to the next without any sense of cohesion. Even within a lecture, Harreld's discourse seems unrelated many a times to the topic of the course. This makes it very difficult to follow this series as a University course - it feels more like a podcast.

For eg. In the 30 minute lecture on post-communism Russia, Harreld spends 10 minutes talking about the fall of the Soviet state (understandable), 10 minutes about Eastern Europe (the Berlin Wall in particular) and Yeltsin in the last third. Why?!! 90s Russia is such a fascinating subject from an economic history point of view. And Harreld barely covers it in the eponymous lecture!

There is value in this series but only if you listen to the lectures as an un-serialized podcast. Medieval and pre-modern economic history is well covered but mostly from a Western perspective.

There was so much potential in the topic but the series does not live up to it.

[Doug O'laughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh god. So 1) realllllly great but also 2) realllly boring and drags out to be really boring.

Keep in mind what this is; a lecture series about econ over history. if you want to learn about that, GREAT! If not. boy.

[Frank Lodato · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating is primarily based on the lecturer’s ability to present his material in a clear, concise and extremely easy to follow format! I wish I had him for any one of my economics courses in either college or grad school!

[Arno Mosikyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have to be a person of Caluste Gulbenkian's caliber to feature in such a pretentious and monumental opus like this one... and Mr Gulbenkian is there.

[sobaba · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last chapter really made it all worthwhile

[Hunter Harlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid and unbiased history of the development of modern economies

[Juan Chavez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Money truly does make the world go ‘round. And yet, when it comes to the study of world history, most of us focus on politics, society, and culture. We often overlook the vital importance of economics.

Economics has, in many regards, created the world. Not only is it the process through which societies provide for the well-being of their citizens, it has also driven everything from trade and politics to warfare and diplomacy. In fact, there’s not a single aspect of history that has not, in some way, been influenced by economic practices.

Most of us, even those savvy at following today’s market fluctuations, have a limited understanding of the powerful role economics has played in shaping human civilization. This makes economic history—the study of how civilizations have structured their environments in order to provide food, shelter, and material goods—a vital lens through which to think about how we arrived at our present, globalized moment. It’s also a way to educate yourself about the history behind today’s (and tomorrow’s) economic headlines, from trade negotiations to job outsourcing to financial miracles.

Designed to fill the long-empty gap in how we think about modern history, An Economic History of the World since 1400 is a comprehensive, 48-lecture journey through more than 600 years of economic history, from the feudal system of the medieval world to the high-speed information economy of the 21st century. Aimed at the layperson who has only a cursory understanding of economics, these lectures illustrate the fascinating links between economics and history, revealing how the production, consumption, and exchange of goods has influenced (and been influenced by) historical events and trends, including the Black Death, the Age of Exploration, the invention of the printing press, the Industrial Revolution, the European colonization of Africa, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of China and India, and the birth of personal computing.

How can concepts like prices, resource allocation, production methods, technological development, and labor steer the fates of entire nations and ways of life? In the hands of economic historian and award-winning professor Donald J. Harreld of Brigham Young University, this profound question forms the foundation of an exciting Great Course that transforms the basic economic worries of providing for one’s welfare into a riveting, centuries-long story of power, glory, and ideology.

Discover the Economics behind History’s Great Events

What’s so special about the year 1400? Professor Harreld starts the course here because this was the historical moment in which we first begin to see the baby steps that would send the world toward the modern economic systems we use today. And while the lectures extend outward to examine the economic histories of places like India, China, and Africa, the focus is primarily on the West, because the world economy has been framed by Western ideas and ideals for the past several centuries.

“Economic history is not the examination of the history of economics,” notes Professor Harreld. “We’ll only lightly touch on the history of economic thought. Instead, we’ll focus on what happened in the past—rather than what people thought about what happened in the past.”

An Economic History of the World since 1400 is your opportunity to view major historical moments through the perspective of economics, shedding new light on familiar people and events. It’s also your chance to see how, in step with history, economic ideas emerged, evolved, and thrived or died.

The Black Death and the end of serfdom: From 1346 to 1353, the plague devastated the population of Europe—an event that would have profound ramifications for the largely feudal economy of the time. Along with a drop in the amount of cultivated farmland and a rise in wages, the Black Death forced indebted manorial lords to turn the management of their estates over to peasants, which began the trend of eliminating serfdom that would be finished by the 19th century.
Colonialism and joint stock companies: By the end of the 16th century, the Dutch and English broke the Portuguese monopoly on voyages to Asia, opening a new chapter in the story of European domination over long-distance maritime trade. This, in turn, gave rise to joint stock companies—new forms of business organizations like the Dutch East India Company. So powerful were these merchant blocks that their charters acknowledged the use of violence to advance international trade.
Class consciousness and consumer culture: In the late 19th century, thanks to technological advancements and better living standards, Europeans and Americans had more money in their pockets than ever before. What resulted was a working-class interest in fashions and tastes that had formerly concerned only the upper class. To satisfy this, people turned to more modern forms of consuming goods like mail-order catalogs and department stores. However, an increased emphasis on class lines also led to major labor strikes and riots, as well as the birth of communism.
World War I and postwar debts: The First World War not only destroyed nations, it also ravaged the international economy. In the years after the war, huge debts that countries had accumulated to finance the war had to be paid off. Inflation hit much of Europe after the United States insisted on being repaid in full. There was also the matter of Germany’s war reparations bill, which was more than $30 billion. Unknown to most parties, these and other economic events created conditions that helped bring about World War II.
The Middle East and the oil economy: How did the Middle East become such a powerful player on the world stage? The answer lies in the last quarter of the 20th century, when Western attempts to exert economic power in the region, a softening of the post-World War II economy, and a global shift in fuel consumption provided these oil-rich nations with a major role in world affairs.
Examine the Intersection of History and Economics

As Professor Harreld takes you through the tumultuous centuries of modern history, you’ll strengthen your understanding of a range of economic concepts, philosophies, trends, treaties, and organizations.

Learn how early guilds and monopolies were established in an effort to protect merchants from competition in distant cities.
See how the mercantile system defined by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations helped further the process of state building that would remake Western Europe.
Discover how the United States, which often borrowed European technologies, pioneered the American system of manufacturing using interchangeable parts in the 19th century.
Consider how Marxist economic ideas played a major role in the African independence movement (and the Cold War) during the 1950s and 1960s.
Witness how various nations came together to form international economic organizations, partnerships, and trade blocs including the European Union, the Arab League, and NAFTA.
By grounding these and other topics in the history of world events, An Economic History of the World since 1400 makes them much more understandable. It also cements the important role the economy played in why wars were won (and lost), why international agreements were made (and broken), and why national economies rose (and fell).

Professor Harreld also invites you to consider provocative questions about the intersection of history and economics—and their illuminating answers.

What technological invention, more than any other, revolutionized the modern economy?
How do economic historians define terms like “globalization” and “class consciousness”?
Why didn’t China’s advanced civilization industrialize hundreds of years before it actually did?
What did the economies of Roosevelt’s America and Hitler’s Germany have in common?
What does history tell us about how nations should—and shouldn’t—dictate economic policy?
Can we say that free trade is truly free?
Marvel at History’s Economic Forces

An award-winning teacher and chairman of Brigham Young University’s Department of History, Professor Harreld has spent his career carefully analyzing the interplay between economics and the social and political behavior of countries throughout the world. His chronological approach to the subject, combined with illuminating visual aids (including detailed maps, historical documentation, and illustrations of key trade routes) make this an excellent visual learning experience. And his resonant, authoritative voice makes these lectures equally compelling to hear.

While it may seem daunting to chart the economic evolution of the modern world, in the hands of this master educator, you’re never overwhelmed or vexed by complex economic details. Instead, you’re guided through a top-level explanation of economic concepts, with the focus always being on their historical ramifications.

“History doesn’t repeat itself exactly,” says Professor Harreld. “The world changes. But the past helps us see the world today more clearly.” With An Economic History of the World since 1400, marvel at just how much we still have to learn about the economic forces that have dictated our past—and that will undoubtedly dictate our future.

[Nilesh Jasani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most popular economic history books tend to be about various ideologies and their founders/proponents. Even as they discuss the key economic events, the focus rarely shifts away from pitching great ideas against each other. This course does a little bit of that, but its value is in distilling the same events to provide the genesis of numerous economic facets of modern life; these are constructs that we take for granted but they are utterly artificial whose coming into being have been impacted societies for centuries as the best of scientific and other discoveries.

Factories and shop-floors, firms as legal entities, banks and financial markets, central banks and fiat currencies, trade unions to taxes, civil laws, deficit funding, consumerism, equities/debt to structured products and so much more - constituents of modern economic life have a fascinating background as these lectures highlight. One may not agree with many of the conclusions as Prof Harreld often makes sweeping judgements while attributing the success/failures of certain societies or practices or ideologies that are anything but academic. The treatment of the subjects is also uneven: superficiality turns more evident as one zips past the massive twentieth-century events with massive conclusions without remotely adequate explanations.

Overall, definitely worth a listen for the backdrops to our economic life but be wary of an offputing treatment of more common economic events, concepts and personalities.

[Xiao · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the weakest great courses book I've seen in ~20 so far.

Pro:
- one of the very few history of the world books that isn't just a history of Europe and America

Cons:
- mainly history, not much economics
- you get your picture taken quickly at various important historical landmarks but no depth or analysis
- highly ideological and dogmatic. For instance, with the few seconds he spends on labor unions, he essentially paints them as aimless anarchists who just shuts down production for fun

[Luis Angolotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very comprehensive account of history from an economics point of view. The book reads too much like a regular history book but I'm not sure if that's because economic history and regular history are one and the same (in the end, economic drivers are usually behind most of what happens around us), or if the author just couldn't find a more original approach to the subject.

That said, Mr. Harreld should be commended for his breadth of knowledge, his ability to synthesize and his balanced approach to complex subjetcs.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout the presented history, the parties who are in favor of Free Market economic policies are those parties who have complete or near-complete control of the market. Perhaps we see the same thing today.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very concise and thoughtful. Not preachy. Illustrates the influence of technology on economic forces and tides. Perhaps the information technology section is the weakest, but that economic book is still being written.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Great Courses I've taken.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The book is a great introductory course to anyone interested in how Economics is interwoven into History. Majority of the lectures cover all topics in a way that's enriching yet concise, without being too dense. As such, it allows readers to open their minds and further do their own research on topics that interested them.

The book shares a couple of facts that I personally enjoyed:
- The Black Plague originated in China.
- The knitting machine was invented by a man who felt his wife was paying more attention to her knitting than to him.
- The invention of the vaccine is largely due to cows, and cowpox. The word vaccine is from the Latin word vacca, meaning cow.
- The worker's strike originated from boredom and curiosity. Even so, the strike was still effective in bringing about favorable changes to the worker.
- The USA and Germany had very similar approaches in regards to the Great Depression, but were very politically different.
- While the Bretton Woods Conference was designed to foster international cooperation for global financial recovery, China and Russia refused to partake in the conference together, causing the conference to be held in two stages instead.
- The formation of ASEAN was relatively smooth compared to other regional blocs as the members of ASEAN had the same desire of being free from heavy Western reliance and influence.

And my personal favorite:
- Small scale businesses and organizations are unlikely to pull out a nation on its own. Collectively, however, small scale businesses help improve the lives of thousands of people. The support of small scale businesses is crucial to the development of a country.

****

I enjoyed the book in general, but I did not give full 5 stars for the following reasons:

1. I appreciate the author's efforts in ensuring that the information presented are not too Eurocentric. Compared to other history pieces I've read, this book actually does make a good effort in trying to incorporate the role of other countries outside the usual Eurocentric perspective. Unfortunately I would say the world perspective is still lacking, and any discussion on the perspectives of other regions such as Asia or Latin America are mostly simply at best a tangent.
2. The distinction of economic history was somewhat blurred in some cases. At times, it felt like more history was discussed than economics. I think this would be a good book for an Economist to learn more about history, but not for a Historian to learn more about economics.
3. Some of the presentation of ideas and events may come off as ideological or dogmatic.
4. Harreld speaks animatedly and is a joy to listen to, however he does stumble and stutter in almost all lecture chapters. Personally, this did not disturb me as much as it did other reasons, but I would say that having an author stutter their work and like would not be a 5 star book.

[Todd Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Economic History of the World Since 1400 is an long collection that effortlessly delves into the intricate tapestry of economic evolution. This audiobook, available for free, presents a iterative narrative that explores the interplay of successive advancements that have shaped our modern economy. It starts in the 1400, covering the 1st Industrial Revolution and moves into the 2nd that began in 1850. It moves into the 3rd and 4th. The frequency of change appear to be getting shorter.

The author's meticulous approach to details ensures that each chapter stands on its own, providing a comprehensive and thorough examination of various advancements. The book covers a wide range of topics. Whether it's the interconnectedness of certain advancements or the independent leaps that have occurred throughout history, this book offers a wealth of knowledge that is great collection.

One of the book's notable strengths lies in its exhaustive attention to detail. Every event, name, year, and concept is meticulously laid out, leaving readers with a understanding of the subject matter. This level of thoroughness is a testament to the author's commitment, research, and scholarship to providing an all-encompassing historical account.

While the depth of information may be overwhelming to some, this book is a trove for those who appreciate and crave a deep understanding of economic history. It encourages readers to develop an insatiable appetite for historical narratives and fosters a genuine appreciation for the rich tapestry of human progress.

An Economic History of the World Since 1400 stands as an achievement in its ability to shed light on the complex interplay between economics and historical events. And it is free too.

My interest was to understand possible distribution on the cusps of a possible 5th Industrial Revolution where AI tools will possible replace some activities at a higher rate.

[.]

Хората, които имат голяма памет трябва да се занимават с други неща, но не и с мислене и разказване на истории.

Те просто май не стават за учители.

Аз например съм със СУУУУПЕР зле памет. Аз нищо не помня. И точно за това, обяснявам като за идиоти, и всъщност съм добър учител. Щом съм разбрал нещо и запомнил, то трябва да си много много много по-тъп от мен, за да не го разбереш и запомниш.


Хубавото при мене и моята тотална липса на памет е че понеже физически е невъзможно да запомня нещата, АЗ ГИ ПОМНЯ АЗ ГИ РАЗБИРАМ.


И това е проблема на авторът на курса. Това.бяха писали и в коментарите в големите курсове. Даже бяха писали, ако не се лъжа, че това е един от най-разочароващите курсове.

И аз така. Гледах няколко лекции. Хубав дизайн всичко от към визия топ., Но просто факти. Несвързани факти. Дати, градове, имена...

Както българските учебници по история.


Това е справочник, ама и справочник не е щото в справочник поне нещата идеята е лесно да се намират.


Няма да давам оценка щото не съм изгледал целия курс но това си е също оценка.


Много искам да изгледам/прочета няколко различни авторови (на различни автори НЕ ТОЗИ) ГЛЕДНИ точки - учебници и курсове на икономическа (стопанска история)... Така както те субективно виждат полето ОТ ДО.

НЕ ИСКАМ ФАКТИ ДАТИ, ЦИФРИ И ИМЕНА НА РЕКИ, КОИТО ЩЕ ЗАБРАВЯ докато още ги казва... Това не е знание... Стига с тая абсурдщина, че като ти излеят фактите и ти рационално ще решиш пъзела...


Да може би, ако го изучавам полето 40 години бих решил пъзела донякъде....


Но тогава за какво ми е изобщо професора... Той какво е правил тия 40 години?! Учил на изус факти?!

Тоя тип хора с голямата памет не знам за какво са, но май за преподаване просто не са.

[Tech Nossomy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As university coursework in what are aptly called 48 lectures, the author provides a highly condensed overview of the world's economic history. This means that there are no new insights, no overarching themes and also perpetuated misconceptions:
* The overrated significance of the Columbus voyages
* The peasants who worked the manorial lands were not necessarily serfs, and the reality for them was far more nuanced.
* The section on famines, the plague and warfare contains a too-numerous-to-mention amount of misconceptions.
* The section on bourses and exchanges is so brief, that it can be considered incomplete.
* Increases in the stock of human knowledge lead to economic growth is a value statement and economic policy (barely discussed in the book) is a larger factor.
* The term Obamacare is used, rather than the Affordable Care Act.
* The author argues in favor of social welfare programs, but fails to mention that various welfare reform acts enacted since the eighties have gutted these programs for US citizens.
* The author seems to argue against free trade, and the treatment of trade agreements is generally poor.

The author distills surprisingly little monetary economics and focuses largely on micro- en macro-economics. Neither is there much discussion about taxation, such as tithes, tolls, import/export restrictions and even exchange rate risk. Writing style is also dense, with all information presented in bullet points. Images often have a limited relationship with the subject matter and they leave no room for charts or maps for example.

[Comert Vardar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It may not hold your interest if you expect it to provide the advanced information about the economies as the title promises. However, just because the title does not match the content, that doesn’t make the knowledge it provides less valuable. Yet, it makes mention of almost all important milestones, key changes and breakthroughs in the modern history and provides a solid picture of how the societies evolved which makes it quite catchy especially for the ones who do not hold history or economics background.
Subjectively, it helped me to realize how live the societies are and evolve decade by decade with every single event occurs in our lives. And putting the sustainability concerns of the current system aside, it also made me think that the point the societies arrived today could be the best possible outcome of centuries-long endeavour, taking its lessons out of its pitfalls and crisis that costed millions of lives.
And lastly, as Donald J. Harreld also emphasises in the final chapter, it won’t be reasonable to say similar crisis won’t occur anymore in one form or another, but it should not hold us back to have a cautious positivism for the future of the societies.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This economic history stretches from 1400 to current times and crawls into niches to which you were never introduced in school and probably never knew existed. Of all the history I've read, this one gives more thought and focus to the East -- China, India and their neighbors, and to Africa -- areas of knowledge in which us westerners are intellectually impoverished.

The book is well written, rich in detail, and largely chronological. The author seems to be more of a "pure-play" economic historian, rather than your typical economics teacher. So you may not find this course as engaging as something like "Legacies of Great Economists" by Timothy Taylor. However, it covers a much larger range and depth of information than that course.

The one complaint I would make -- if any -- is that the ending (at least for me) sort of "fizzled out". So much history is covered in this book that it is hard to reach any meaningful conclusion or spin the finish so that you see the world in a new light.

Still, I know of no book that covers this range of material -- so it is definitely worth the read.

[Scott Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are 48 lectures in this course and I had hoped that I would walk away with a clear understanding of economic development but unfortunately the series does not focus on economics as much as I would like. As the lecturer covers history he spend quite a bit of time on technology, military and politics but not as much on economic principles. For example on technology he covers various iterations of the steam engines and for computers covers innovations at Xerox PARC but he covers this at the cost of economics. I'm not saying economics is completely missing. He covers creation of corporations, Adam Smith, gold standard, Marx, tariffs, etc. But I would have liked more analysis of economic principles. For example, rather than covering iterations of the steam engine why not have a whole lecture on just the gold standard. He covers Kanye but never mentions Hayek.

If you are looking for a history review with some emphasis on economic then this series is good but if you are looking for discussion of economic ideas then I'd skip this.

[Anirudh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent intro to world history from 30,000 feet!

This is by far the longest audiobook I've listened to (did so at 1.5x-2.5x speed, mainly while driving to/from work last month). What I liked most about the book: it provides multiple snapshots of the world at various points of time. E.g. the reader/listener gets a picture of what was happening in Europe, China, Africa, India, and the Americas in the 1750s.

An obvious limitation of the work is just the immense scope it wishes to cover in under 50 lectures. I learned a bunch of things though (which may sound obvious to many others). Examples:
1. Impact of Indian cotton on the Industrial revolution
2. Dynamics of transition from a traditional to an industrial society
3. European colonization of Africa in the 1870s/80s
4. Failed attempts at reasserting colonialism after the Second World War
5. Saving Europe with the Marshall plan
6. Trajectories of development - various global powers

It's the kind of book that requires motivation to power through. But once you do, you'll want to read it (listen to it) again.